Comparison

CardBal vs MarkView

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CardBal

Read full description

CardBal turns your iPhone into a pro reader for transit and stored-value cards. Hold a card to the top of your iPhone to see its balance, rides and card details, and the raw data behind them. READ • Balance and remaining trips • Ride history with stations, lines, distances and fares where the card stores them • Card details such as card family, number, issue date and technology • Raw data and a full hex export, with an optional Developer Mode for KS X 6924 cards SEE WHERE YOU'VE BEEN • Ride Map draws the routes your cards remember • Transit Atlas maps every city and province you have ridden in KEEP YOUR CARDS • A wallet of every card you have read, with names, icons and your own card photos • iCloud backup and file export • Card numbers can be shown in full, masked or hidden APPLE WALLET CARDS Read a supported Apple Wallet transit card on another iPhone or Apple Watch with Service Mode turned on. SUPPORTED CARDS Japan (FeliCa): Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, SUGOCA, nimoca, Kitaca, manaca, TOICA, Hayakaken, SAPICA, IruCa, OKICA and more Japan (e-money): nanaco, Rakuten Edy, WAON Greater China (T-Union): 300+ city cards, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, plus City Union cards Hong Kong: Octopus South Korea (KS X 6924): T-money, EZL, Cashbee Mongolia: U-Money France (Calypso): Lignes d'Azur Readable balances and history depend on the card, its issuer and the data stored on it. CardBal reads card information; it cannot top up cards. CardBal is an independent reader and is not affiliated with transit operators.

About

MarkView

A lightweight and private Markdown reader for Apple devices. It focuses on a clean reading experience, fast loading, and robust privacy by processing all documents locally. Enjoy features like dark/light modes, table of contents, and full-text search.

Highlights
  • Lightweight and fast loading
  • Local processing for privacy
  • Dark and light modes
  • Table of contents and search
  • Supports Mermaid charts and math formulas
  • Read-only design
Read full description

MarkView is a lightweight, clutter-free Markdown viewer, built for fast, private, local document reading. Open Markdown notes, READMEs, exported files and long .md documents effortlessly on iPhone and iPad. It strips away cumbersome project-management logic — simply open, read, and revisit your files anytime. Import and open files directly from the Files app or the system Share Sheet. No account sign-up, no cloud uploads — all your files stay local and private on your device. Core Features • Lightweight & Minimal Fast file loading and a clean, distraction-free reading interface, with no redundant toolbars or complicated setup. • Private Local Reading Every file renders locally on your device. No sign-ins, no cloud uploads — your document privacy is fully protected. • Optimized Reading Experience Elegant typography, adaptive light/dark modes, a table of contents, in-file search and progress tracking deliver comfortable reading even for long documents. • Full Format & System Support Supports all mainstream Markdown formats, native Files and Share Sheet access, plus quick revisit through recent documents. • Rich Rendering & Safe Read-Only Faithfully renders tables, code blocks, Mermaid diagrams, math formulas and more. Pure read-only mode never modifies your original files. If you're looking for a lightweight, elegant, privacy-focused Markdown viewer that respects your local files, MarkView is your ideal choice.

Screenshots

CardBal4 screens
MarkView4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: CardBal at Free against MarkView's $0.99. On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

CardBal is free to download; MarkView costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CardBal ships an update every 2 weeks, MarkView fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
CardBal versus MarkView: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCardBalMarkView
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating—5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKitta Co.迪 黎

In-app purchases

None

CardBal

No in-app purchases

None

MarkView

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CardBal free?
CardBal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MarkView free?
MarkView costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do CardBal or MarkView have ads?
Neither CardBal nor MarkView shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CardBal or MarkView?
CardBal ships an update every 2 weeks, and MarkView fortnightly. Most recently, CardBal was updated on October 25, 2026 and MarkView on October 25, 2026.

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